Man, 66, arrested on suspicion of stabbing four women in Sainsbury's car park in London suburb was BAILED by police hours earlier after he was charged with assaulting a police constable and possessing a knife

Suspect in his 60s held by police in Sainsbury's car park in Hampton

Knifeman arrested after he stabbed four women in chest, back and legs

Three of the victims were treated in a car park - another flown to hospital

Witness said: 'He only went for the women. It was completely unprovoked'

Mother and daughter may have been stabbed as they got out of their car

Police confirm he had been involved in assault on officer a day before

He was arrested and charged in relation to offence in Kensington

Did you see the attack or know the victims? Email news@mailonline.co.uk

Police have today arrested a man, 66, on suspicion of attempted murder after four women were stabbed in a Sainsbury's car park.

The attack came just hours after the man - named locally as Ethem Aydin Orhan - was released from custody after assaulting a police officer the previous day and was charged with the offence and with possessing a knife.

The female shoppers were set upon in a series of 'completely unprovoked' attacks in Hampton, south-west London, which may have left a mother and daughter seriously hurt.

All four women were stabbed as they walked to the store or got out of their cars, suffering wounds to the legs, chest and back - and one woman, named locally as Janet Morsy, 62, is fighting for her life in hospital.

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Horror: This is one of four women stabbed outside a London supermarket today - one of the victims is fighting for her life in hospital

Crime scene: Four shoppers were stabbed outside this suburban Sainsbury's in Hampton today by a man apparently only targeting women

Evidence: A police officer collects evidence including blood-soaked clothing from the Sainsbury's car park as they question the suspect

One eyewitness described one elderly woman lying on the pavement with 'blood coming out of all different parts of her body.'

A bleeding victim hobbled to a nearby police station to raise the alarm before officers armed with Tasers arrested the knifeman without needing to fire the weapons.

A woman with life threatening injuries was flown to hospital by air ambulance, the rest were treated at the scene.

The victims were aged 67, 62, 71 and 53.

Neighbours said mother-of-two Ms Morsy 'just froze' when she saw the knife.

Another person who knew the family said her condition was improving in hospital and that her two sons were with her.

Neighbour and full time mum Lisa Rabbetts, said: 'Janet was getting out of her car in the car park because she was going to get the bus. I was told that she saw he had a knife but she just froze.

'She didn't know him and she was stabbed in the arm, in her side.'

She added: 'Janet's just a lovely woman. They are a lovely family. I think she does a bit of work for the council.

'I'm completely shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened to anybody we know, especially to someone like Janet.

'I heard about Janet when I got home. I heard she had internal bleeding and they were trying to stop that.'

Aftermath: One victim and is believed to have been stabbed in the back and hobbled to a nearby police station to raise the alarm

A person who knew the family, but did't want to be named, said: 'Her sons, her family are all there will her in hospital at the moment.

'She is improving. She's being monitored at the moment. She 's just a lovely lady.

'I am just so upset and shocked. You don't expect something like that to happen to someone like her. She was on her own and she wanted to get the bus.'

The 53-year-old woman's condition was initially thought to be life-threatening but is now stable. The other victims were taken to hospital by road ambulance and their injuries are not life-threatening.

Police have confirmed the knifeman was arrested and charged with being in possession of a knife and assaulting a police officer in Kensington on May 19.

He was released on bail earlier this morning. The Directorate of Professional Standards have been informed and have informed the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Borough Commander Richmond-Upon-Thames, Chief Superintendent Glenn Tunstall, said: 'I would like to praise members of the public who rushed to the aid of the injured women and provided them with first-aid.

'Their bravery and the outstanding courage of the officers who were first on the scene and confronted the armed man is worthy of praise.

'An incident like this will cause considerable concern to the local community, and I would like to reassure them that uniform officers will be patrolling the area and can speak to anyone who has concerns.

'Inquiries are ongoing, but we are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.'

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Detectives are interviewing the suspect and trying to establish a motive - Ben Brady, 30, who works next to Sainsbury's claims a police officer told him the attacker was a mental health patient.

The woman airlifted to hospital had learning difficulties, he said.

He said: 'It was about 10.30am and I just heard a whole load of commotion outside.

'I went outside and there was a lady lying down. She looked like she was in her sixties. I think she had Down's Syndrome. She was wearing a coat, but when someone took it off you could see a lot of blood. I saw the older lady with learning difficulties airlifted away later.'

Then he heard screaming from two women stabbed near their car.

He said: 'As I walked over to the car park I heard a loud scream and as I ran over,

'I saw two women. I think they were mother and daughter. They were screaming 'we were just getting out of our car - he's stabbed us.'

'Again there was a lot of blood but, by then, police were there and paramedics.

Another eyewitness described the scene as 'horrific' and said she saw the victims lying on the floor bleeding.

She told ITV London: 'I could see bodies lying on the ground. There was an elderly lady just lying down beside the police station. I tried to help, she had the police there and paramedics.

'I could see this poor lady with blood coming out of all different parts of her body.'

She said one of the victims was her neighbour, Janice, and added: 'She was stabbed three times in the chest, back and arm.'

Abandoned: This is a car abandoned in the car park - one witness said he believed it contained a mother and daughter stabbed today

Shocking: One witness said the knifeman ran through a crowd of shoppers and only targeted women, claiming the stabbings were 'completely unprovoked'

Horrific: A woman with life threatening injuries was flown to hospital by air ambulance, the rest were treated at the scene

One Sainsbury's worker described seeing paramedics surrounding one of the victims giving urgent treatment.

A member of staff at the nearby Hampton Pub said the knife man was only targeting women in the unprovoked attack.

The woman, who did not want to be named, added: 'It's so awful - four women have been stabbed in the car park. He only went for the women.

'The man ran through and started attacking them. It didn't seem like they knew him it was completely unprovoked.

'One lady is in very bad condition, she had to be air-ambulanced out.

'If it had been 10 or 20 minutes earlier there would have been children there because it's right outside a primary school.

'He was caught very quickly just outside the car park. He appeared to be out of it, on drugs or crazy. He must have been very angry to go out and unprovokedly stab those women.

Police collect personal possessions from the car park and the suspect could be charged this evening, MailOnline understands

'The woman who was badly stabbing in the back made it up to the police station and raised the alarm.

'She is well-known locally and always goes shopping there all the time.'

A police cordon remained in place around the car park where the women were stabbed.

Several police officers were standing guard at the scene.

Blood stained clothes could be seen on the ground and a forensic officer was examining the area. One of the victims went to a police office, less than 100 yards from the car park, where she was treated.

A blood stained jacket and first aid kit were still lying on the ground surrounded by police tape outside the Hampton and Hampton North Wards police office. The car park of the Sainsbury's store backs on to a pub, youth centre, children's hospice and school.

Vicky Turner, 41, a care worker for the elderly, said she was passing by in her car when she saw the culprit kneeling on the floor in handcuffs, with his head held down by police.

She said she recognised him and had often seen him on the bus locally.

When passing by, she saw the man shortly after his arrest.

She said: 'He was on his knees with handcuffs on and his arms behind his back.

'He seemed really quiet. He was just looking around'.

A resident of Partridge Road said: 'I'm appalled and absolutely horrified. It's just so scary, this is a quiet area and it's not at all what you think is going to happen in Hampton.

'It's just horrible, that poor, poor woman.'

A member of staff at Tangley Park Children's Centre, which backs onto the scene of the stabbing, said: 'We kept all the children safe and kept them in the building until we knew it was safe.

'It's just such a shock - our parents and children could have been walking to their cars at that time.

'Our sympathies go out to everyone who was hurt and we are really glad none of our families were involved.'

Investigation: A forensics officer holding an evidence bag, at the scene at a car park in Hampton

Witness: Shoppers watched in horror as they saw the women stabbed in the chest, legs and back

The Met said police were called at around 10.35am to The Avenue in Hampton after reports of a man in possession of a knife.

The spokesman said: 'Officers attended and discovered three women suffering from knife wounds.

'The London Ambulance Service also attended and are providing treatment to the women.

'Their conditions are not thought to be life-threatening or changing at this time.

'A fourth woman who had also suffered knife wounds was subsequently located at a nearby property.

'She has been taken to hospital where her condition at this stage is thought to be life-threatening.'

The spokesman added: 'At this early stage, the incident is not believed to be terror-related.'

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said that the car park doesn't belong to Sainsbury's, but rather is council owned and offers parking for visitors to the shops and the community centre in the area.

Danni Fitzpatrick, a supervisor at the nearby Hampton Pub, said police had told her four people had been stabbed.

She also reported a 'tall man' had been apprehended by police officers at the scene.